As Sonic Notes continues to commemorate (read: neck Murphy's, Guinness and Smithwicks) the Irish Independence Centennial - the actual Rising/Rebellion anniversary is the last week of the month, as the first shots were fired versus the British colonialists on the 24th, with aggressions ending on the 29th - a commensurate soundtrack is in order. We left off a couple weeks ago with spankin new Irish bands Pleasure Beach from the north and Spies from Dublin; we'll round out the Emerald Island in the south with four freshfaced lads from Cork.
    The Shaker Hymn is  another commercially viable entry with its familiar Britpop influences of Pulp and Suede. I'm hearing Brian Eno era Roxy Music as well, and stateside and more recently the early oughts' Loudermilk and Queens Of The Stone Age. The sophomore release came last month after gestating for a near year, the cheekily titled Do You Think You’re Clever. Yes, I do, actually.
    While The Shaker's psych guitar sound could just as well come from the former oppressors across the Irish sea, two veteran bands of an unmistakably domestic genre are based far from the country of origin. Germany's Fiddlers Green - yes, the Eastern European Germany - has been, well, fiddling for a quarter of a century; in fact, their own celebration to that milestone has been documented on 25 Blarney Roses Live, in concert from Cologne on Saint Paddy last year. The tour from whence it came supported four new songs, "Rock Road To Dublin"/"Blarney Roses"/"Take Me Back"/"Burning The Night" of Irish speedfolk tradition. Actually, there was no tradition until the band invented it. Speedfolk is their neologism for Irish folk metal all their own despite having been influenced by the usual suspects: The Pogues, The Waterboys, Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly. If the latest EP is any indication, the next era of green Fiddlin should be great craic. Up for it.
    Another fertile land for rocknreel is of course Brazil, no? Nevertheless, Tuatha De Danann - as to distinguish from Ireland's seventies institution De Danann, covered in this space last year - has been headbangin in kilts for nearly as long as their metallic elders to the east. Dawn Of A New Sun  is the dozenth album in twenty years of Halloween lite powermetal from the South American quintet plus violinist plus piper (pipist?) led by Bruno Maia, who plays the other traditional instruments: mando, banjo, tin whistle, flute, bodhran, while singing baritone like Til Lindemann from Rammstein on verses and Michael Kiske from Halloween elsewhere. Including their German accents. To my ears anyway. I'm hearing a metal Molly, more crunch and stomp than twist and turn, though cited inspiration is by the like of Jethro Dull, Yes, Genesis, Rainbow, Marillion, Dio, Metallica, Paradise Lost, Amorphis.
    A raise of The Parting Glass to ye - slainte! Up the rebels!